


A Bunch of Nerds

by Nom_De_Pen



Category: El Goonish Shive
Genre: F/F, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Nudity, Open Relationship, Poly, Polyamory, implied Sarah Brown/Grace Sciuridae, implied Sarah Brown/Tedd Verres
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 15:32:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16579247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nom_De_Pen/pseuds/Nom_De_Pen
Summary: Ashley is Elliot’s new girlfriend. Some people might view her as a roadblock to him dating other people, but she’s far from averse. The question is if they’re ready forher.





	A Bunch of Nerds

**Author's Note:**

> A short shippy fanfic I wrote as part of my attempt at NaNoWriMo this year. Hope y’all like it!

Ashley sat on Elliot’s bed, bouncing up and down only slightly. He was out of town that night, attending a meet in a martial arts tournament. It was a pretty big deal, judging from what he had told her, so she did not begrudge him the days spent away from her. But today? Today he would come _back_ , and she would be sitting on his bed. She smiled wickedly. Sitting on his bed, _naked_.

There was only one flaw to her plan. And that flaw opened up the door to the bedroom right then and there. “Uh. Hello.” Ellen blushed ferociously, looking away.

“H-h-h-hi.” She responded from beneath the bed. “Achoo! I-I-I-I uhhhhhhh…!”

Nanase peeked over Ellen’s shoulder. “Is someone in there?” She was topless. Because _of course_ she would be.

Ellen sighed and looked back at Nanase. “We have an unexpected guest. Ashley, yeah?”

“Meeeeep.”

Nanase colored and hugged her chest. She also began cursing in Japanese and hunting for her shirt.

Ellen, on the other hand, walked into the room and sat on the bed. “Where are your clothes? I’m not mad. Just. Uh… _Thrown_.”

“B-Beneath here with me.” The mattress above her was rocking, but for all the wrong reasons, Ashley thought to herself.

Ellen sighed and pinched her brow. “You didn’t get Elliot’s text saying he’d be another day coming home. So you were here. To surprise him.”

“...yes. I. I feel really stupid now.” Ashley emerged from below, wearing a shirt and jeans along with her glowing red face.

“Why?” She grinned like the ne’er-do-well she was. “I think he would have been super happy to see you lying there like that. I know _I_ sure was.” She ran a hand through her green hair.

Nanase entered the room, frowning. “Why is this poor girl still red as a beet? Have you been _flirting_ with her?” She smiled resignedly, and made a show of shrugging.

Ashley blinked, gaining back her complexion. “Wait, you two are poly?”

Ellen smiled in reply. “Yeah, we’re open to the possibility. No takers yet, though. Or well…”

Nanase sat down next to Ellen and patted her hand. “We haven’t exactly had the courage to really try it yet.”

“Just, heh, _flirting_ with the possibility.”

Ashley shrugged. “Take your time. It took me and Elliot about a month to finally ask out Tedd.” Both of the other women’s jaws dropped. “...uh… Is it something I said?”

“Tedd!? My _cousin!?_ ”

“ _Dang it I wanted him!_ ” Both of them were blushing.

“Wait was he the one you—”

Nanase shook her head. “Grace.”

Ashley tilted her head. “Is she off limits now because we did this?”

Ellen buried her face in her hands. “I… I want to know how the _hell_ you all hooked up. That must be a _heckuva_ story.” Nanase rubbed her back. Mixing euphemisms with swears was never a good sign.

Ashley drew her legs up to her on the bed, and hugged them closely. “Well, okay, it went a _little something_ like _this_ …”

———

Ashley was standing at the door to the Verres household that afternoon, holding a weighty Tupperware container. She rang the doorbell a second time, having waited about five minutes to do so.

Then she heard the voices clearly through the door. “...Dang it, Tedd, _another_ wardrobe malfunction? None of my clothes fit now!”

“Sorry, Sarah. I’ll fix that as soon as I answer the door.” The second voice then switched to an alien language, saying what she had been told translated roughly to “Speak, friend, and enter freely.”

“Friend,” she said in that same language. She could not help but smile at the nerdy injoke, though she was curious why they chose to speak it in some online fandom language called Uryuomoco.

Tedd swung open the door and Ashley got to see Sarah in full frontal.

———

“ _Nice_. Ow…”

“Please, continue.”

———

Tedd was the one who blushed the hardest. Sarah just sat wrapped up in a towel on the couch, legs crossed one over another. Ashley sat near her, blushing a little as well. “You, um, look very nice today, Sarah.”

“Thanks,” She said sarcastically. “You look nice too.” This last she said more genuinely. “What’s in the box?”

She looked down at her container in her lap. “Oh! It’s the brownies I brought over. I was hoping to share them with Tedd so we could...talk… Is he breathing?”

Sarah looked him over. “Think so. Speak, boy.”

He gasped. “I’m a _little_ confused here! Who did we just invite into my house?”

Ashley laughed gently, then stood and extended a hand to Tedd, brownies in her other hand. “I’m Ashley, Elliot’s girlfriend, and I came over because we haven’t actually met yet! Elliot was busy, so I asked if I could come over on my own! He gave me the password… Sorry.”

Sarah nodded. “She’s cool. We spoke a little in the showers at school.”

“It’s so nice to see that it’s true about Tedd’s house being clothing-optional!”

Sarah snorted. Tedd scratched the back of his head. “Ooonly when my dad isn’t here. Which _is_ pretty often, but not that often. Sarah’s just being naked right now to pout about the damaged clothing from the experiment. Ow! What’d I say?”

“Ix-nay on agic-may!”

“Oh no, it’s fine! Elliot and I had a talk about it, and we realized that I really should be more clued into how magic and so on works, for my own safety. I’m not going to make you leap through a bunch of hoops just to interact with me anymore.” She smiled beatifically, and took the lid off of the brownies.

Tedd blinked. “Ooookay, then… What brings you to my scientifically magical realm?” He picked up a brownie and bit into it.

Ashley hesitated. She nervously rotated the lid in her hands. “Well… Elliot and I had a talk, and um… I was really hoping to have Grace be present for this. Is she somewhere in the house…?” Grace tapped her on the shoulder from behind. “EEEP”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

Ashley’s hand felt her chest to be sure her heartbeat was regular, as she gasped for air. “Jeez you’re nervous! Uh, maybe try picturing your audience naked?” Sarah shrugged, trying not to wince at how troubled Grace looked by Ashley’s reaction.

Ashley breathed in deeply through her nose, then a long controlled breath out between pursed lips. “Okay… Okay, I’m just. Wow. You _are_ a squirrel.” She finally turned around to see a naked furry Grace.

“Haha, yeah, I uh…”

“Can you transform back and forth between that and human?”

“If I’m allowed to. I can get some clothes on?”

Ashley shook her head. “I’d love to see you do it with your clothes off.” She smiled, with hardly a hint of embarrassment.

Sarah whistled. “Tedd, I think you lost your position at the top of the pervert pyramid.”

Tedd scowled. “No way! I’m the one whose house has two naked transforming women in it!” Sarah hid her giggle behind her hand.

Ashley applauded after Grace finished demonstrating her ability to shift between squirrel, human, squirrel-human, cat-human, and Jeremy. “You look so _different_ from how Elliot does it! What kind of magic are _you_ using?”

Grace winked, and sat down on the arm of the chair where Ashley sat. “It’s not magic. I’m just half alien, is all.”

Ashley nearly vibrated out of her seat. “So...many... _questions_! But I came here just to ask you and Tedd one!!”

Grace blinked. “Oh right, you did say something about that!”

Tedd nodded. “You can go ahead and ask us.”

“Could Elliot begin dating Tedd?” His jaw dropped. Grace and Sarah just looked at each other.

“I. W-why would I…? I mean… _Grace help_ ”

Grace walked over to sit next to Tedd on his other side, and put an arm around his shoulders. “I think you should answer this one on your own. I’m totally okay with it, personally, but, I understand if you’re anxious about it.”

Tedd buried his face in his hands. “There’s no way in Hell Elliot actually. Actually. What the fuck?” He shook. “ _What the fuck_.” A small circle of moisture formed on his jeans, followed by another.

Ashley was quiet. Awkward, of course, but quiet. She had seen how hard it was for Elliot to admit he felt that way himself. It seemed almost as hard as admitting his gender being up in the air. For years, he had been so happy with his friends Sarah and Tedd, growing up with them and enjoying each other’s company. But now that high school was drawing to a close, and their lives were filled with so much turmoil and wonder, he finally understood what he felt.

“I. I’m sorry. You come to a house of transformations and naked women, and i-it’s all spoiled by one...one crying boy.” He was struggling to make eye contact now. Trying to stop himself from crying more.

“It’s not spoiled at all.” Ashley shook her head. “It’s hard for Elliot too.”

Sarah nodded. “I bet. He was always really afraid of losing his friends, of letting love interfere with the way things were. I’m. I’m impressed you got that out of him.”

Tedd turned to meet her eyes. “You too? You saw...something between us? That’s.” He laughed bitterly. “That’s just so _gay_ , isn’t it?”

“...only when you want it to be.” Grace smiled weakly. She was teary-eyed too.

He hugged her as tightly as he could muster. She squeezed back just as hard. Then Ashley noticed a faraway look in Sarah’s eyes, and she wondered for a moment if—

———

“Yeeup.”

“Yes, probably.” The two sat on either side of Ashley, intensely listening to her story. “Tedd even told me they’ve seen each other naked so often that they’ve become mostly used to it.”

Ellen snorted. “Didn’t seem that way around me, that’s for sure. But that _was_ a while ago.”

“Really? I had no idea your friend group was so… _tense_.” Ashley flushed deeply.

Ellen grinned, and poked Ashley in the side. “Just like one of your fanfics?”

She hid behind her hands. “More like one of my doujinshis…!”

Nanase giggled and shook her head. “So Tedd and Elliot finally decided to try it? Good for them. It’s quite a burden to get off your chest. I’m surprised Elliot didn’t try to confess himself, though.”

Ashley lifted her head. “Well, he was the one who made the brownies. And…”

———

“Seriously? These are good.” Tedd munched on another one. Ashley nodded, busily texting.

Grace nodded, her mouth quite full. “It’ff deliffyuff.”

Sarah sighed. “Honestly, Grace.” She wiped the crumbs off her mouth with a napkin.

Another knock came at the door. Ashley smiled at them. “ _That_ should be Elliot.” She looked at Tedd. “Do you want to get the door or…?”

Tedd shook his head. “I uh… I got it.” He walked away, and they all watched him, concerned.

Grace swallowed, then sighed. “I knew there was something there. I just wanted him to realize it on his own, you know?”

Sarah nodded. “...it’s funny. Elliot broke up with me because he saw me as a sister. Which, don’t get me wrong, is obviously a strong feeling for him.” She smiled weakly. “But he also said he loved me the way he loved Tedd, when. When I asked him about it again, a while later. I can’t help but… B-but wonder…”

Grace placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re wonderful. You’re smart. You’re sexy. You just didn’t click.”

Sarah ground away at her eye with the bottom of the palm of her hand. “God. I should be over this.”

Ashley quietly shook her head. “You loved him for years. It’s not surprising you still do.”

Sarah smiled the best she could, tears still sitting in her eyes. “Thanks. I. I hardly know you, which is a dang shame. We should fix that.” Ashley smiled back. “...what are those two up to?” She looked towards the door.

The two were hugging. Grace muttered under her breath, “ _Finally_.” Then all the girls laughed.

———

Ashley was lying back on the bed, between Nanase and Ellen who had joined her. Nanase rested her head on her left shoulder, and Ellen had her head propped up on her hand and elbow to her right. “You’re a good storyteller, Ashley,” Nanase murmured quietly. “So good you almost made me fall asleep…”

Ashley blushed. “Ohhh, I’m really not. I mostly just write a lot of drabbles and…” She tried to fret with her hands, but Ellen placed her hand on them. She quieted down.

“You’re _really_ good. You managed to really make it feel like we were hearing Grace and Sarah talking just now. And… Dang, that makes you really observant too.”

Ashley swallowed drily. Her face grew redder. “Mmm… Know what I’m observing, Elly?” Nanase said, not shifting her head at all.

“What are you observing, Nase?” Ellen grinned like a cat. Ashley felt like a mouse, yet not in a bad way.

“I think Ashley _likes_ girls.” She ran her hand over Ashley’s sleeved arm. “Don’t you, Ashley?” Her eyes were questioning a little. She wanted permission.

“Yesss… I… Elliot and I are still...still open to… Um… I mean to say… Go ahead.”

Ellen smiled, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “You’re super cute. You ramble when flustered, and turn such lovely colors…”

“Did you… Did you want to hear how our first date went, though? Tedd, Elliot, and— ahhh…” Nanase was kissing her ear.

“Let’s take a break.” Nanase breathed into her ear. “I’m too curious about you right now to bother with the _boys_ …” She licked behind her ear next, and she won a moan from her.

Ellen met Ashley’s lips with her own, then kissed Nanase as elegantly as if they had planned it.

Ashley smiled. It was her lucky night, and she could tell them later what Tedd and Elliot talked about.

She remembered what she had been told...

———

Elliot was hunched over at the door. He was wearing his favorite coat, the one he used to use to hide. Tedd shook his head gently. “Come in, come in. It’s. Cold out there.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Mm? For… Oh. Don’t be sorry about that, please. Just come in—”

“I should have come in and told you myself. I. I should have had the courage to…” He swallowed drily. “I’m sorry.”

Tedd shook his head. “You don’t have to be. You did nothing wrong. I. I was hiding too.”

Elliot looked up into his eyes, his own tearing up. “But don’t you see? When you hide, it’s my job to fight off what scares you. To face it. It’s. It’s how we’ve always been.” He sniffed, and wiped his face with his sleeve. “God. I was going to run back home and eat every single one of those brownies myself. I’m. I’m so lucky to have Ashley.”

Tedd nodded. “And. And I’m lucky to have Grace. But. I.” He stepped forward and hugged him close. “I can’t just squelch this down anymore, Elliot. It would hurt too damn much. I want to...to have my brownies and eat them too!” He shivered.

Elliot was surprised at first, but he hugged him back. He stroked his hair gently, and then rested his head next to his. “...I want to make this work. And she does too.”

“We can try. It’ll be strange but…” He squeezed tighter. “We aren’t strangers to strange.”

Elliot chuckled. “No, no we aren’t. We’re a bunch of nerds.”

That was when, of course, they kissed. That was when their girlfriends came over and tugged them inside the house at last. That was the beginning of a relationship that was long in the making, and would hopefully be long in the living too.


End file.
